Covering the beautiful sprawl of Sonoma County, from Sebastopol and the coast to Healdsburg and Windsor and through Santa Rosa, Sonoma, and Petaluma, author Lee Torliatt offers readers a glimpse of the vivid and lively activities of the region's athletes and teams over 100-plus years. These photographs and images trace the accomplishments of the county's pivotal figures in football, baseball, track, basketball, boxing, ice hockey, tennis, and other sports.

Fans will recognize names like Ernie Nevers, a football hero at Santa Rosa High School, and track giant Ralph Rose of Healdsburg, a major Olympian who was struck down by tragedy early in the 20th century. Captured here is the famous upset when the Bonecrushers and Leghorns met in 1948, the short-lived but glorious years of an ice hockey team imported from Canada, the local enthusiasts who enjoyed hunting and fishing, the early female athletes of the region from the 1850s to 1952, and several legendary heroes of their times, including Helen Wightman, Smith Robinson, and Joe DeMaggio (before he was DiMaggio.)